Encourage open and honest communication throughout the team.
You should be making a point of asking for feedback regularly from your team members, and it should be easy for them to give you honest, open feedback. It’s important that everyone on the team feels comfortable giving this kind of feedback so that you can encourage an atmosphere where trust and empathy are valued. If you’re having issues with communication between team members or if there are conflicts in the workplace, try scheduling regular meetings to check in with everyone.
While it might feel like everyone is communicating with each other enough as they work on projects together, ask yourself whether they’re really communicating well enough. There needs to be an atmosphere conducive to open communication and sharing ideas. Make sure you have opportunities built into your company structure for employees to share their thoughts and feelings with each other and with management too – this will help create a culture where good communication is valued by all!
Surveys can also provide insight into how people are feeling about their job or company culture; anonymous surveys allow people who might not otherwise speak up about any problems at work because they don’t want their names attached publicly to whatever criticism they could potentially make against management decisions or policies implemented by senior leadership teams within an organisation.
Create a culture where feedback is appreciated.
How many times have you had to listen to someone’s feedback, only to find it personal and not constructive? How often have you seen someone give feedback that’s designed to uplift and help the person grow?
As a leader, you can work towards a team culture that appreciates feedback by framing your team members’ opinions as questions. For example, instead of saying: “This design is too busy and we should remove the buttons.” Try saying: “I think this design might be too busy. What do you think about removing these buttons?” By phrasing it as a question rather than an opinion, your team members will feel encouraged to provide honest feedback in return.
Ultimately, genuine respect for one another is at the core of building a strong team culture where people can share their thoughts without fear of negative consequences.
Give feedback in a timely manner.
We understand that giving feedback is often difficult, especially if you’re the type of person who wants to be liked. However, learning to give timely feedback will improve your communication with others and help your team succeed.
Here are some tips for giving feedback as soon as possible:
- Ask if now is a good time to provide feedback on your teammate’s work. If they say no, ask when would be a convenient time. Remember that being respectful of other people’s time goes both ways – they should offer you the same courtesy!
- Discuss the work or behaviour in a neutral way, using specific examples of what happened and how it could have been done differently. Give praise where it’s due! You should also offer suggestions for improvement where needed.* Describe what each party can do differently in future situations. Sometimes all it takes is one small change that leads to big results!
Use positive reinforcement to help others see their strengths.
Positive reinforcement is an essential tool for encouraging good behavior in the workplace. Don’t know where to start? Try these tips:
- Praise your coworkers when they do something well, whether it’s a small or large achievement. This will help them feel valued and make them more open to criticism and feedback in the future. For example: “You make me laugh every time I see you post on the Slack channel! Thanks for brightening up my day.”
- If a coworker does not respond well to praise, try giving them a tangible reward for their efforts. It could be something like coffee on you, a gift card to their favorite store, or even just an extra 15 minutes of break time.
- Make sure that your positive language is specific—that is, tell your team members what exactly they did well so that they can repeat their success in the future. For instance: “Your report was very detailed and organised—it made it easy for me to understand everything.”
Aim for a common goal, not individual wins.
We’ve all heard the old adage that there’s no ‘I’ in team. It may be a cliche, but it’s true. Even if your team is composed of incredibly talented individuals, you need each individual to play with and alongside others to achieve success. How can you create an environment where those individuals can feel comfortable working together? Effective communication is central to the achievement of any collective goal.
Communication is not a solo act, either: it must be practiced by all members of the team in order for it to be effective. How well do you communicate with your teammates? Do they trust you? Do they know what your goals are and how they fit into them? Make sure your team members have a clear understanding of what it is you want out of this endeavor and how their actions affect the outcome.
Help your team understand how their work supports shared objectives.
One of the most common reasons for poor communication is that people don’t understand how their work supports shared objectives. It’s frustrating to put in hours of hard work if you’re not sure why it matters or how it connects with more overarching goals. Here are some steps you can take to help your team understand the bigger picture:
- Explain how individual projects support broader company goals. Be sure to clearly state how each project fits into the company’s mission.
- Give examples of how your team’s work is important to the success of the organisation as a whole.
- Explain how completing smaller, individual tasks will help your team achieve its larger goals.
Remember: It’s on you as a leader to make sure that everyone understands why their work matters and what role it plays in achieving your team’s (and ultimately, your company’s) ambitions.
Be aware of underlying emotions when you’re communicating with people on your team.
If you’re a manager, it’s important to understand that your team members will probably be in different emotional states throughout the day. If someone is stressed or anxious, they might react differently than they normally would to a request or situation. These emotions can also affect how people communicate with others on the team. By being mindful of these emotions and keeping them in mind as you communicate with others, it helps create a more inclusive work environment and can lead to better communication and collaboration
Understand that everyone processes information differently, and variations in communication style is part of diversity.
It’s important to remember that everyone is unique. We all have different backgrounds, experiences, and personalities. We all communicate differently, perceive and process information differently, learn in different ways (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), have our own strengths and weaknesses, and hold our own beliefs and values. Understanding these differences is key to being able to communicate more effectively as a team!
Success depends on effective communication between team members.
When people communicate, they share information with each other. These communications can be verbal (spoken), written (e.g. emails), or non-verbal (unspoken, such as body language). Success depends on effective communication between team members.
Communication is a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas toward a mutually accepted goal or direction. Communication happens when one person sends a message that is successfully received and understood by another person. For effective communication to happen, all participants should be able to:
- send and receive messages
- understand the messages sent by others
- make sure their messages are understood by others
The teambuilding and training activities and sessions from propeller team training incorporate effective communication in teams. To get in touch to discuss a workshop for your team click the button here.